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Apple iPad

It's hard to imagine that a case with this caliber of quality was created by hand — but that's exactly what the folks at Rabbitrampage do.

This Playstaion iPad case listed for $35 — was crafted using felt cloth and velcro to keep the lid closed. The game console details are all hand-embroidered except for the classic red "P" and yellow "led light" which are hand-cut felt.

It will neatly cover your iPad 2 and the new iPad. The iPhone version, which we've featured before can be found here.

American Airlines has been approved to become the first commercial carrier to receive FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to use the Apple iPad in the cockpit during “all phases of flight” the company said in its official press release — touting the expansion of their iPad Electronic Flight Bag program.

“This is a very exciting and important milestone for all of us at American Airlines,” said Captain John Hale, American's Vice President – Flight.

“With this approval from the FAA, we will be able to use iPad to fully realize the benefits of our Electronic Flight Bag program, including improving the work environment for our pilots, reducing our dependency on paper products and increasing fuel efficiency on our planes. We are equipping our people with the best resources and this will allow our pilots to fly more efficiently.”

By using an iPad to replace paper-based reference materials and manuals, American Airline pilots will be able to remove a 35-pound kitbag — saving the airline an estimated $1.2 million of fuel annually based on current fuel prices.

The tablets will utilize mobile software and data from Jeppesen. The Jeppesen app is approved for gate-to-gate use throughout all phases of flight. Although the app is a free download, you must have a valid Jeppesen electronic charting serial number in order to activate coverage.

The airline is also pushing forward with an initiative to put iPads in the hands of Flight Attendants as well, which will ultimately “give them better information about the customers on their flight and their travel needs,” according to American Airlines.

Apple iPads will start rolling out to pilots this month on the airline's 777 fleet — with FAA approval for use in all fleet types expected by the end of 2012. All active pilots and instructors will be getting their own iPad device in order to ease the company-wide transition over to tablets.

While the iPad is “the first FAA-approved device to be tested” — other tablets will be evaluated for in-flight use if and when they receive FAA approval.

After just five paid issues populated the iPad Newsstand — Arianna Huffington is making her weekly tablet-only magazine a free download in the App Store.

The ambitious project simply called Huffington, was launched in mid June for the price of 99 cents an issue, $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year. But during a company wide meeting on Wednesday, executive editor Tim O'Brien announced to several hundred staffers huddled into a sixth-floor auditorium at AOL's Broadway headquarters that the magazine would become a free download.

O'Brien told those in attendance "that there had been a total of roughly 115,000 downloads of the app," according to a report by Capital New York. Since The app was always delivered with a free month to new subscribers — it's unclear how much up sell occurred from the flurry of initial downloads.

"In the end, we felt that asking people to pay for the magazine was inconsistent with The Huffington Post itself, which has never charged for content," Rhoades Alderson, a HuffPost spokesman, told Capital when we asked about the move. "We're thrilled with the way the magazine has been received."

Huffington was so thrilled by the magazine's reception that she decided to make her "array of narrative jewels" crafted by nearly 500 editors and reporters free for the taking. In addition — the new-media giant announced that anyone who had paid for a Huffington subscription would be fully reimbursed.

As I glanced through a few of the back-issues on my Newsstand app, it became instantly obvious that several of the featured stories were not exclusive to the iPad. Several of the articles could be located on The Huffington Post website — which were published a few days earlier than the iPad only version. A fatal flaw in my opinion.

Earlier this week News Corp's The Daily digital-only news publication, hacked one third of its roughly 170 employees with plans to simplify designs and scrap the standalone Opinion section along with reporting on sports.

While the dream of paid digital-only publishing may not be completely dead just yet — the medium will have to undergo a metamorphosis in order to find the breakout success enjoyed by the innovative news aggregator app Flipboard that adheres to an advertising-based approach. A model that Huffington will now employ as well — relying solely on advertising going forward, according to Tim O'Brien.

With the entire Huffington Post also available as a free download, I fear it won't be long now before the premium Huffington experiment suffers a sudden and early demise. But before you get too depressed — grab the free issues before the fat lady starts singing. It just doesn't get any better than free.

Photographer George Dinkel has created one of the most exotic and wildly ornate iPad speaker docks found on planet Earth. He refers to his act of iPad worship as "TonSchrein" which is German for "Sound Shrine".

This very personal design project made with polymer clay houses a 2.1 speaker sound system inside — but it's not for sale, so you'll have to worship at this magical altar from afar. Dinkel is planning on taking his this epic work of iPad art on tour later this year. For those about to Shrine — we salute you.

Griffin Technology has managed to reimagine its hands-free AirStrap case with Doctors in mind. The fully sanitizable AirStrap Med iPad case was specifically designed with the help of physicians and nurses to serve the specialized needs of the healthcare environment.

This lightweight case has a built-in hand strap or shoulder strap which includes a screen shield that closes securely around the tablet — effectively sealing it off from unwanted moisture and fluids. There's even a molded-in clip around the back for storing a stylus onboard and the hand strap performs brilliantly even when wearing latex or nitrile gloves.

A 2012 study by Manhattan Research confirmed that iPad is the dominant tablet platform among US physicians — with 62% claiming to use one for professional purposes. Half of those doctors who own a tablet indicated they've used their device at the point-of-care, according to the study which included 3,015 practicing physicians in more than 25 specialties.

“Physicians are evolving in ways we expected – only faster,” said Monique Levy, vice president of research at Manhattan Research. “The skyrocketing adoption rates of tablets alone, especially iPads, means healthcare stakeholders should revisit many of their assumptions about reaching and engaging with this audience.”

The AirStrap Med which sells for $89.99 — works with both iPad 2 and the latest retina display iPad. Unfortunately original iPad users are out of luck. Which makes this functional doctor's little helper the perfect excuse for upgrading from that older iPad.

Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury surrounding the case of a 17-year-old Chinese boy who sold a kidney so he could purchase an iPhone and iPad last April.

The teen, identified in reports by his surname Wang, reportedly suffers from renal insufficiency — a condition where kidney function continues to gradually decline.

According to the Xinhua News Agency account on Friday, one defendant received about 220,000 yuan (or $35,000 USD) to arrange the transplant and then paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon being charged along with three other defendants and medical staff.

“I wanted to buy an iPad 2 but could not afford it,” said the boy. “A broker contacted me on the Internet and said he could help me sell one kidney for 20,000 yuan.”

"On April 28th, the boy went to Chenzhou City in neighboring Hunan Province for the kidney removal surgery arranged by the broker. He was paid 22,000 yuan (an extra 2,000) or $3,400 USD after his right kidney was taken out at Chenzhou’s famous No. 198 Hospital."

The boy's mother learned of her son's tragic transaction after seeing the new iPhone and iPad in his possession. When confronted, Wang admitted to selling a kidney to obtain the devices. The teen is from one of China's poorest provinces, Anhui, an area that frequently sees many residents leaving the area to find work and a much better life elsewhere.

Apple products in China are priced well above the reach of many Chinese — with iPhones starting at 3,988 yuan ($633 USD), and iPads sold at 2,988 yuan ($474 USD).

Ministry of Health statistics show that approximately 1.5 million people in China require transplants, while only 10,000 transplants take place annually. Even though China banned the trading of human organs in 2007 — the huge need for transplants continues to drive a thriving illegal market for organs.

The Xinhua report did not identify who received and paid for the boy's harvested kidney. Several other suspects involved in this case are still being investigated.

Each year, ThinkGeek unleashes a plethora of fake geek goodies on April Fools. Some of their fantastical gags have actually went on to become real products like iCade — the $99 iPad Arcade cabinet and the Star Wars inspired Tauntaun Sleeping Bag.

My favorite imaginary gift this year is the Electronic Hungry Hungry Hippos game for iPad. The fast paced marble grabbing game that became a phenom for kids in the late 1970's is re-imagined here to integrate with iPad at the center of the action.

"Just like the game you loved as a child, but updated for the new iPad!"

Each hippo head has capacitive pads underneath to interact with your iPad to re-create the chomping action you remember. ThinkGeek has even created a classic Hungry Hungry Hippos promo video to make their "not so foolish" game idea even more convincing.

Expect to pay $29.99 for the must-have, imaginary hippo game of your wildest dreams. I think kids just might like it too.

What happens when you fire an HK53 assault rifle directly into Apple's new iPad? You get a bunch of rednecks all hootin' and hollerin' that's what.

It's amazing to witness how solid the new iPad is — with Gorilla glass helping to hold it together quite nicely after taking a dozen or more high powered shots to the face. Just like you did this weekend.

It's a good thing this guy bought Apple Care so he can make an accidental damage claim. Hey!—it happens.

Several sources have now confirmed that Apple will begin selling their third-generation iPad when stores open this coming Friday starting at 8:00 am. Retail store employees are expected to be pulling long overnight shifts in order to prepare for the official iPad launch.

AT&T has also announced that they will be selling the new iPad with ultrafast 4G LTE at their retail stores. For those planning to go beyond Wi-Fi only you'll find data plans priced starting with the painful 250MB plan for $14.99, the 3GB plan for $30, and a 5GB plan for $50. iPad data plans include free access to AT&T’s 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots around the country which I've found mostly in Starbucks locations.

I would expect Apple stores to replenish iPad stock on a regular basis, so if you don't plan on lining up for launch day — you should still expect a special iPad queue outside the store for several days beyond Friday.

One analyst has predicted that Apple could sell as many as 1 million units of the new iPad on March 16th. Apple sold 300,000 of the original iPad when it launched as a brand new product in April 2010.

“We expect Apple to sell more than [1 million] iPads on 3/16, the day the new iPad hits retail stores,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a March 12 research note.

Regardless of how many iPads sell at launch, lines will be long and Apple faithful will be howling like packs of wolves when the store gates begin to lift at 8:00 am. Count on it! There's just nothing like the energized smell that comes from weapons of mass consumption outside the Apple store.

Apple's new iPad is going to have one of the most stunning displays you could ever imagine seeing on any mobile iThingy. That's why Conan O'Brien took the liberty to highlight exactly what kind of "Resolutionary" visual images when can all look forward to when iPad arrives this on March 16th. I can't wait.